Content Knowledge
In this project I learned all about coffee and how it is made through various different steps from the bean at the tree to the cup of coffee. Starting at the harvesting stage where the ripe red cherries are picked off one by one and the slimy green seeds or what we call "beans" are separated and dried in the hot sun for a week or two. They're exported and roasted and finally they're grinded into coffee grounds so that it can be brewed in many different methods to create the drink we all know and love to have every morning before work.
Academic Skills
There are various chemistry concepts within these stages that we've learned such as the heat transfer and the maillard reaction going on during the roasting or the dissolution going on during the brewing and the three Ts that the perfect cup of coffee depends on such as time, temperature and turbulence. We can apply chemistry to not only making coffee but also when drinking it and the various effects it has on your brain. We all know coffee has caffeine in it and when we drink coffee, the caffeine goes into our brain and blocks adenosine receptors, and adenosine is a neurotransmitter in your brain that makes you feel tired and sleepy and when it is blocked from caffeine, as a result we feel more awake and alert.
Life Skills
After this project I now have more of an idea of what's in a cup of coffee I drink and the chemical concepts when making the "perfect cup" and what makes it taste so good. There is a long story for every cup of coffee and there are so many processes and chemical changes to bring out the best flavors of the beans. Also it helps to know the factors affecting the coffee flavor which are the three Ts when brewing, so that we know why a certain coffee tastes great and one doesn't.